title: Upper airway imaging.
abstract: Sleep apnoea syndrome, consisting of daytime sleepiness and loud snoring, is caused by obstruction of the upper airways. This paper reviews the techniques which could be used for localising and quantifying the degree of obstruction while the patient is sleeping. Each has specific limitations and it is concluded that while none is ideal, magnetic resonance imaging and ultrasound show the greatest promise.
authors.affiliation: Department of Respiratory Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Scotland, UK.
authors.forename: N J
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: Douglas
mesh_terms: D000402:Airway Obstruction / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D012891:Sleep Apnea Syndromes / Q000209:etiology; D014463:Ultrasonography